


you remember the plane of puppies?

by starrydreams



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, idk how else to tag that, plane of dogs!!!, plane of dogs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, stolen century stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-27 16:11:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13884429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrydreams/pseuds/starrydreams
Summary: When they broke through the plane, moving past the jelly-like feeling of flying into it, there was a loud gasp from a few of the crew members, one in particular. Magnus rushed into the living room that they had and dragged Lucretia, Merle, and Barry onto the deck so that they could see the plane as they descended and landed. He was so happy he looked like he could’ve started crying.





	you remember the plane of puppies?

**Author's Note:**

> WOW OK........ so my hands suddenly dumped 4.5k words and its by far my longest fic ive written thats one chapter!  
> anyway, this was commissioned by infinite-chump on tumblr!! thank you so much for commissioning me and i hope you like it!!

     The IPRE crew had been through plenty of planes. They had been through enough to learn that they would never know what to expect of one until they were in its atmosphere- it was a complete surprise. Taako had compared them to Fantasy Surprise Eggs, you never knew what you were going to get. Could be a cool ass toy, or a shitty one. You just had to crack it open and find out.

     They had been to plenty of terrifying ones with _terrifying_ situations. Toxic planes that couldn’t sustain life, not even themselves. Planes where it was infested with monsters that couldn’t be reasoned with, that tried to kill them whenever they even step foot on the planet to try to find the Light. There was a plane that seemed desolate until night fell and they were attacked-- they had to spend the rest of the year repairing the ship instead of finding the Light. That plane had probably given the Hunger a bit extra _umph_. Then, there were planes, times where they almost didn’t make it out, not all of them. Those times had to be the scariest, no matter what the plane was like that they were on. It was those times that fueled Barry and Lup’s want to become liches.

     In contrast, there was also planes that were a pleasant break from the constant running and fearing for their lives and the state of the universe. The beach year was a fantastic one, one that they would all hope to repeat in the future. There was a plane that was a never-ending party and they revealed in the festivities they were able to indulge themselves in. There was a plane that welcomed them with open arms, having a small population. (They found the Light easily that year.) Planes that were similar to home were nice, but bittersweet because none of them could ever really return home.

     Though, it was interesting. Every plane was different- like snowflakes, there were no two alike. It was almost… a game to see what they would get next, what trials they would have to face. It was something to keep them the least bit positive as they repeated the same action over and over for years. Land, find the Light, run, repeat. At least the planes added a bit of a fun, challenging element to it. It certainly kept Lucretia busy with recording all the different planes and what they were like. Thank the gods she could write with both hands.

     However many planes they visited, they were never truly prepared for their next one. Especially Magnus.

     When they broke through the plane, moving past the jelly-like feeling of flying into it, there was a loud gasp from a few of the crew members, one in particular. Magnus rushed into the living room that they had and dragged Lucretia, Merle, and Barry onto the deck so that they could see the plane as they descended and landed. He was so happy he looked like he could’ve started crying.

     The scene below them was one similar to the Animal Kingdom plane except… it was only dogs, as far as they could tell. They could see structured cities and towns as well as the dogs, that looked tiny from above, walking around. The towns were mostly just homes and parks, seeing as dogs didn’t really have much need for stores. Though, they could see a small shopping center away from the main towns, more in a thriving city. They would have to investigate what those stores were actually for later.

     Right now, they could tell it was a _dog_ plane, and the varying expressions of the IPRE was an easy display of how different each member could be.

     Magnus was delighted. He had always loved dogs, not really a surprise there. The fact that they had a whole plane of them was something that excited him the most- probably his favorite plane of all. He couldn’t wait to land and get to meet them all. Lup seemed pretty excited too, certainly not as much as Magnus was. A whole dog plane meant another language to learn that Taako and Barry could learn and talk secretly in. Barry seemed to have the same thought, and he looked at her with a knowing grin. The plane being inhabited by dogs was a plus, too, he thought they were pretty cute. (His family had one back home before he left to join the IPRE. He sort of missed the little guy.) Davenport, from where he was in the captain’s chair, counted himself pretty happy with it. They would get sort of a break year, and they were lucky it wasn’t someplace worse.

     On the other hand, Merle didn’t seem super impressed by the dogs. They were great and all, but he wasn’t going to cry tears of joy or anything. He’d leave that part to Magnus. Lucretia seemed a bit… off-put by the entire thing. She was alright with dogs if she had to be, much preferring smaller ones, but she considered herself more of a cat person than anything. The fact that they had to spend an entire year in a place overrun with dogs wasn’t the most ideal, but she could live with it. But Taako, no- Taako seemed pretty disgusted by it all. He said something about… the dog hair getting all over their clothes and, _eugh_ , the slobber and drool? No thanks.

     Davenport soon landed the ship in a small clearing away from all the buildings, but that didn’t stop a handful of dogs from running over to the ship, barking at full volume. The dogs that came seemed to be more of the athletically built ones, which instantly made Lucretia wonder if there was some sort of power structure in his place. That then led to the assumption that those dogs were some sort of protectors. However, this didn’t stop Magnus from being the first to greet them, instantly being tackled by the four.

     It turned out, there _was_ a power structure set in place. It was a pretty, well, doggish one, considering they _were_ dogs after all. Each town was considered a pack, and there would be an Alpha of each town. Then, there was the major city that housed the Head Alpha. The Head Alpha was the boss of all the others on the plane and kept the entire place running smoothly.

     The seven of them were welcomed and allowed to stay in one of the towns, given a place to keep the Starblaster so it wouldn’t have to stay out in the clearing. The Head Alpha ordered a small pack of the guard dogs to aid with searching for the Light after it was explained what it was. The extra help would be great, especially once Lup and Barry triangulated a possible area. They would find the Light in no time.

     With everything so easily worked out, there was only one thing left to do, and it was what the IPRE did best. They had to explore the plane, to learn as much about it as they could. That wasn’t a hard task, especially with Magnus wanting to be outside with the dogs for every second he could be.

 

* * *

 

     Lup and Barry were busy trying to triangulate the area in which the Light would’ve fallen in, upon Magnus’s request to find it as soon as they possibly could. That was fine, it was good that they find it quickly, but that left Taako alone to start trying to figure out how to break down the language barrier with the dogs. The meeting with the Head Alpha was borderline embarrassing, seeing as they mostly had to play a big game of charades, and he wouldn’t let them embarrass themselves in front of a bunch of dogs like that again. He was going to get a headstart without the two of them.

     Magnus invited Taako to tag along with him as he went to go greet the dogs of every town and look for the Light while he was at it. Taako couldn’t really argue, he didn’t like traveling alone that much, and the _look_ that Magnus gave him should’ve been illegal.

     “Alright, fine, fuck! I’ll go.” Taako huffed at Magnus’s puppy dog eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. Magnus cheered.

     They packed for their trip, and Taako shoved some food along with Magnus’s adventuring gear so they could have lunch. They could possibly even have a picnic if they found someplace clear enough to. He packed the white and red checkered blanket they had, just in case they did. Magnus questioned the space that the blanket took up, but if they were going to have a picnic, they were going to have a _proper_ one, Taako had said. _Thank you very much._

     Once they were packed, the two of them headed out. They first greeted everyone they could in the town they were currently staying in, Taako trying to figure out how to start a basis for a conversation with the barks. Everyone seemed pretty nice and friendly, and they were happy to help out when it came to teaching the language. Magnus found it hilarious to see Taako attempting to mimic the barks of some of the other dogs, scribbling it down in a notebook he borrowed from Lucretia. (He also had gotten smacked in the back of the head with said notebook.)

     They walked from town to town, greeting and talking and learning. Taako had a basis for things they might need for a conversation after a while-- hello, goodbye, things of that sort, but nothing more complex than that. Magnus had to have greeted about a hundred dogs, at least, and he looked happier than he had ever been. All the dogs picked up on how friendly he was, too, and loved to tackle him into dog piles. No matter how many dogs did it, Magnus always allowed himself to be knocked down.

     Taako convinced the two of them to take their lunch break, a task easy to do once Magnus’s stomach growled loudly. The two of them set up their picnic, blanket and all, under a tree in one of the parks in the fourth town they visited. The weather on the plane was nice, too, fair spring weather back home. The sun was out and there was a light breeze that rustled the leaves every so often. They got to eat, peacefully, and in a comfortable silence.

     At least, it _was_ a comfortable silence up until two younger dogs, a Great Dane and a Labradoodle, came running up to the two of them. Magnus grinned while Taako groaned.

     “ _Great_ ,” Taako mumbled voice dripping with a sarcasm that somehow Magnus missed, He was quick to shove the food back into their bag so that the dogs couldn’t get to it.

     “Yeah! It’s great!” Magnus beamed as the Great Dane trotted over to him and proceeded to lick his face. He laughed, letting it push him down until it was laying on top of him. Taako rolled his eyes.

     “I don’t see how you can let it lick your face like that. Doesn’t it feel gross?”

     “Kind of? But that just means they love you!” He shrugged, hugging the Great Dane around its neck. He looked over to see the Labradoodle sitting in front of Taako with the biggest puppy dog eyes- ones to rival his own. “Taako, look! She wants you to pet her.”

     Taako looked over to the Labradoodle when it was pointed out, and he wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Oh no! No way am I going to smell like dog-- more than I already do, mind you-- and have my clothes smell for the next ten cycles! No pets from me, poochie.”

     The Labradoodle whined, tilting her head just slightly as she fixed her pleading eyes on Taako’s. The two stared at each other a few moments that felt like they stretched for eternity before Taako caved.

     “Alright, alright! Yeesh, I’ll pet you.” He grumbled as he lifted a hand for the dog to sniff. The Labradoodle gave a happy bark, promptly settling half of herself into Taako’s lap. He made another noise of disgust but made no move to push her out of his lap. Instead, he pet her with the most begrudging look he could pull. Though, the dog wasn’t whining anymore, so he considered that a plus.

     The dog, though, seemed to grow on Taako as the two of them sat there and finished their food, careful to make sure _they_ ate most of it instead of the dogs. (But, Taako did give them a bit of food, no more, no less.) He would never admit it, not on his deathbed, that she was growing on him. Her barks seemed to be cuter, especially after she started to help him understand what they meant, and, while he minded it, he already was planning a way to magic all the fur off his clothes so he could visit the dog towns without the threat of that. Her sitting in his lap felt a bit comforting, too, in an odd sort of way.

     When it came time for them to move on and visit some of the next towns, they packed their bags and stood, stretching. Taako started off toward the next town, motioning for the Labradoodle to follow along with him. She did, in fact, follow beside him and it made Magnus smile as he jogged to catch up with them. The scene was one he thought he would never see, and it was an _adorable_ one.

     “You like her, don’t you?” Magnus teased, smile turning into a grin.

     “Shut the fuck up! I do _not_!” Taako shouted back defensively. He didn’t mean a single word of it.

* * *

 

     Lup and Barry finally triangulated the Light. Magnus and the guard dogs went off that morning to go find it, leaving the Language Trio-- Taako, Lup, and Barry-- to get to work again. They set out that afternoon, after lunch, picking up where Taako last left off with Magnus.

     With the three of them, it was a lot easier to translate and pick up the language quicker. In only a few hours they learned a lot of the formal language, occasionally picking up on the slang from different towns. They were speaking in mostly barks by the time that they settled down underneath a shaded tree for a break. They had to admit, it was a bit weirder than the grunts they learned in their first cycle, mostly the weird part about it was having to actually… bark. (Maybe they could finally teach Magnus so he didn’t have to beg them to play translator all the time.)

     The twins sprawled themselves out in the grass, Lup with her head in Barry’s lap, and Taako lying beside the Labradoodle he nicknamed Macaron since he hadn’t known her name at first. They soaked in the fresh air and sun while they could, it being the first break they had received in a couple of cycles. It was a well deserved one, too.

     At one point Lup and Barry switched positions, Barry resting his head on Lup’s legs while she absentmindedly picked at the grass around them, dropping the clippings on his face every so often. Suddenly, a small puppy yipped its way over to the three of them and hopped onto Barry’s stomach before he could move out of the way. The landing on his stomach knocked the air out of his lungs, but he laughed and scooped up the offender. It yipped at him and struggled to lick his face, but did so successfully.

     Barry sat up and cradled the feisty puppy in his arms as another dog ran over, barking apologies at him. She was the mother, and the puppy, her son, had run off to see the humans that landed on their plane. She was thoroughly embarrassed, but Barry assured her that he wasn’t any trouble. He gave the puppy a good scratch behind his ear before setting him back onto the grass, letting his mom take him back home.

     It was certainly not the last time that cycle that Barry was tackled by a puppy or two.

* * *

 

     Sometimes the dogs would get into the Starblaster from open doors that they sometimes forgot to close. Most of the time it was younger dogs, especially puppies, who snuck away to see what the humans were doing. They were usually caught quickly, as there was one person in the Starblaster at all times, and set back outside to go home-- or played with, first, depending on who caught them. The crew couldn’t risk them getting into rooms like the lab, or Lucretia’s that kept all their journals.

     However, sometimes they were able to sneak past the watchful eyes of the crew members, slinking into rooms they weren’t supposed to be going in.

     Merle’s room was pretty much a garden at this point. He left home with a large number of flowers to begin with, but through the years he collected seeds, things that would survive the reset, and grew them in extra pots he kept around. Throughout the years, his room became overrun with greenery and flowers, sometimes herbs, really only leaving him desk space and sleeping space. He was fine with it, though, he liked how it looked; it certainly met his aesthetic.

     Magnus one day helped Merle with actually organizing the pots since they had been sort of just scattered everywhere. He helped to make wooden shelves that Merle could arrange the plant neatly. It worked, for a while, and it opened up the room more for movement. But as time went on, Merle continued to collect plants, and they sometimes ended up on the floor or the windowsill, any place that he could fit them. It left his room looking disorganized again, but he gave up on ever keeping it organized.

     Merle headed into his room one afternoon with a filled-to-the-brim watering can, whistling a tune he picked up a couple cycles ago. He liked to water his plants around the same time every day. (If he died in a cycle, he made sure Lucretia watered them at the same time, too.)

     The scene he saw upon entering suddenly made him wish he organized everything.

     A puppy had gotten into his room and knocked over almost every single potted plant he had on the ground, soil and leaves everywhere. A couple pots that were on his desk were broken on the floor and the flowers’ petals on the ground. A couple that were on the lower shelf, as well, had landed on the floor. It was a mess that Merle wasn’t even sure where to begin with. He was going to have to sweep up all the soil and save all his plants and...

     Right there in the middle of it all sat a playful puppy in one of the now empty pots. It looked, innocently, up at Merle and wagged its tail happily. Merle’s face contorted into one of anger and the puppy whimpered at the sight of it, ducking its head in shame.

     “ _Out_!” Merle shouted, pointing toward the door. The puppy scrambled to get out of the pot. “Out I say! And don’t let me see you in here again or I swear to Pan!”

     The puppy whimpered again and ran out the door as fast as it could, right out of the Starblaster as well. Merle sighed, feeling a bit guilty for yelling at the little guy, but he had a room to clean, now. Having the puppy stay in there would only cause more problems for him.

     “Look at this mess,” He muttered to himself, setting the watering can down in favor of going to find a broom to clean with.

     (A couple days later, Merle found the puppy and apologized for yelling.)

* * *

 

     Davenport sort of took to the Head Alpha, wanting to know more about how he governed a plane almost entirely by himself like that. It took great leadership, and he had to admit that he wanted to learn a few pointers in leadership from a dog. So, he asked Barry to teach him the language, or enough to get him passing well enough to have a full conversation with the Head Alpha. It took him a bit to learn the language, certainly longer than he would’ve hoped, but he eventually got it with enough time to spare before it was time to flee.

     He asked Lucretia to join him in the visit, telling her that it was a great chance for her to log more of the government of the plane, but he partly just wanted someone to be there with him when he went. He was the captain, he could go places alone, but he spent so much time keeping a distance from his crew members, he wanted to get to know them a bit better. Besides, Lucretia could use the time outside. She hadn’t left her room very often since they landed on the plane.

     The first time they visited had been a pretty big hit. The Head Alpha and Davenport were able to relate to each other pretty well, even if Davenport’s “pack” was much, much smaller than the Head Alpha’s. They were able to talk about the stress of being leaders and gave each other tips on what they would do in certain situations. Davenport, oddly enough, found himself able to relax more when talking to him. It was… less stressful, almost, like he was an old friend.

     Lucretia, herself, felt a bit odd sitting there with them almost like a third wheel. She recorded their conversation as best she could, translating it into common as they went. Sure, it was a bit awkward, but she was there to do her job. It wasn’t always glamorous at times, but it was her job nonetheless.

     At one point Lucretia excused herself to go back to the ship, feeling as if everything important to be said had already been said. She bookmarked her stopping place in her journal and closed it, pushing herself up from the chair she was sitting on. She raised a hand in a polite wave to the Head Alpha and Davenport before turning away and heading off down a corridor of the Alpha Headquarters. She wasn’t exactly sure where she was going, but she vaguely remembered the two times she was lead in, and the one time she was lead out. She was sure she could find her way.

     As she walked, she heard the sound of paws running up to her, and she turned around a bit too late; a dog ran by and snatched the journal out of her hand and ran off ahead of her.

     “Hey-! Wait! I need that journal.” Lucretia shouted after the dog, breaking into a run to follow it. “Seriously, I really need it!”

     She chased the dog around the Alpha Headquarters until she could count herself sufficiently lost. They took so many twists and turns that she knew she wouldn’t be able to retrace her steps out of the base. She didn’t even know where she was to even begin finding a way out of it- she could only hope that some worker there took pity on her and lead her out of the building.

     The dog continued to run and Lucretia could feel her legs getting tired. Just as she thought she was going to stop running and give up the chase, it ran right back into the room where Davenport and the Head Alpha were. She slowed to a stop right inside the door and bent over, resting her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. She watched as the dog trotted over to the Head Alpha and dropped the book right at his feet.

     The Head Alpha looked between Lucretia and the dog and gave her a sympathetic look. He ordered the dog to give her back the journal and it did, Lucretia taking it with a heavy sigh. It was gross, covered in slobber, but the pages inside were okay. She gave the dog and awkward thank you before plopping right back into her chair.

     The two were invited back again, whenever they wanted to visit.

* * *

 

     Almost a year had been up, now. They only had one day before The Hunger would come, to be exact. Most of the crew spent that last day doing as much as they could on the plane, saying goodbye to all the dogs. Lup and Barry spent time entertaining puppies in the town they stayed in, Davenport spent time explaining about The Hunger more to the Head Alpha, and Magnus tearfully said bye to some of the older dogs in the community.

     Another person that was in tears, least to be expected, was Taako.

     Taako had grown surprisingly attached to his dog friend Macaron since they met at the picnic. If everyone were busy, he would go hang out with her to learn more slang, or sometimes he would let her chill in his room of the Starblaster. It had been a bit of a weird sight for Lup. Seeing her brother get close to someone was never an issue, but the _someone_ being a dog that they could communicate to was a bit odd. She wasn’t going to complain, though. Whatever it took Taako for him to feel comfortable.

     Taako’s goodbye with Macaron was about as bittersweet and emotional as a heartfelt goodbye to a dog could be. He was definitely in tears as they said bye to each other, and he hugged her tightly. He pulled away after a moment and fanned his eyes, making sure that it wouldn’t ruin his makeup. Macaron gave him an amused bark at that and lifted one paw in a wave. It was a bit of a walk back to her home, and she needed to go ahead and go if she was going to make it back before sundown.

     She turned and trotted off, looking behind her a final time before disappearing out of sight. It was pretty damn dramatic, Taako thought after a moment, would probably have been cooler if she was a person.

     From behind him, Magnus let out a sob. Taako turned around to glare at him.

* * *

 

     Unfortunately, the day for them to leave came, and they all boarded the Starblaster with the Light tucked carefully in Lucretia’s arms. They watched painfully as The Hunger made its descent on the plane of dogs, pillars of black slicing into the ground below. They could be content, though, with the fact that they had the Light. The Hunger wouldn’t eat this plane, and Davenport had helped the Head Alpha with plans to keep everyone safe until The Hunger passed. The dogs would be fine, they had nothing to worry about on that front.

     They watched the scene happen as they flew higher and higher into the air, soon leaving the atmosphere of the plane with the weird sensation that it always brought.

     Then they reset, and it was time to move onto the next plane, but the IPRE would certainly never forget their time on the Plane of Dogs.

**Author's Note:**

> please leave kudos/comments if you liked!! if you have any req, shoot me an ask on krebstar @ tumblr!


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